Standards for Healthcare and Wellness Industry Launched in India

It was business not as usual at the recent India Retail Forum (IRF) event as the Quality Council of India (QCI) launched the Standards for the Indian Health and Wellness Industry, at the Quality Wellness workshop.

Girdhar J. Gyani Secretary General, QCI and CEO, NABH handed over the Health and Wellness standards structured by the QCI, to Dr.R. K. Srivastava, Director General Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, to launch the same officially.

About Medical Tourism
Medical tourism can be broadly defined as provision of 'cost effective' private medical care in collaboration with the tourism industry for patients needing surgical and other forms of specialized treatment.

Many prominent members of the healthcare and wellness industry like Somnath Das, COO Manipal Cure and Care, Anand Rangachary, MD Frost and Sullivan, Rakesh Pandey, CEO, Kaya Clinic, Peter Baker, CEO, H and B Stores (Dabur), Ratan Jalan, CEO, Apollo Health and Lifestyle, Ashutosh Garg, CMD, Guardian Life Care, Dr. Sanjeev K Chaudhry, CEO, Religare Wellness, Ashish Kripal Pandit, CEO, VLCC, Dr. Madhukar Gangadi, Founder and CEO, MedPlus, Viraj Gandhi, MD, Medicine Shop, Gautam Jatia, CEO, Emami Frank Ross, Gautam Thadani, Director, 98.4, were present at this momentous occasion.

This launch comes post the announcement by Giridhar Gyani, at the ACHSI (Australian Council on Healthcare Standards International) certification of MCC, in April this year, regards the QCI's plans to create a Standard for Wellness in India, at par with standards observed by health care industry in other parts of the world.

The Indian wellness standards are first of its kind even internationally, as there is no similar standard in existence even abroad. Girdhar Gyani Secretary General QCI said "the Indian health and wellness standards developed by us cover all aspects of the healthcare and wellness industry so comprehensively, that these standards will also serve as a reference point for other international accreditation agencies to develop standards in the wellness space."

Medical Tourism � The Road Ahead
Medical Tourism has become a serious enterprise in India over the last two years. However some hospitals have been practicing it for quite a few years.

The Standards for Health and Wellness are a set of regulations applicable for accredited health care and wellness companies offering services to consumers in India. This launch is considered to be a very important development as it will establish credibility globally, for Indian health and wellness industry. This accreditation would now serve as an assurance of quality services from a reliable, safe and quality conscious operator to the consumer desiring the best.

The Standards for Health and Wellness accreditation will require consideration of a variety of criteria in Wellness service providers. These would cover aspects like technology, trained manpower, infrastructure, customer safety, processes and controls among many others, statutory and regulatory compliances. The standards would lay down stringent regulations for service providers to obtain mandatory full accreditation of the total services offered.

India Emerging as International Medical Tourism Hub
India continues to make rapid strides in medical tourism. A recent report calls it the fastest growing market in the world. But many areas of concerns need to be addressed.

The launch of the standards is the result of the initiative taken by major wellness industry players who conveyed the need for an indigenous Standard for Health and Wellness in India. Somnath Das, COO MCC, said "It is not always feasible, and economically viable for small Indian wellness operators to obtain accreditation from international agencies. Therefore we felt a strong need to suggest that the QCI frame an Indian standard at par with the international standards, which could be implemented by all in our industry. These standards would thus go a long way in enhancing the growth and credibility of the Wellness Industry in India and also build consumer trust in a wellness brand."

Quality Council of India has been set up as a joint initiative of the Government of India and the Indian Industry. It is a non-profit autonomous body registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act.

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Source-ANI
RAS/SK